Canadians fare poorly in giant slalom at snowboarding worlds

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The Canadian Press1/25/2013 6:39:14 PM

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STONEHAM, Que. -- Canadians fared poorly in the parallel giant slalom event at the FIS Snowboarding World Championships on Friday, with stars Jasey-Jay Anderson and Caroline Calve failing to advance to the finals.

Anderson, who won gold at the Vancouver Olympics in 2010, finished 20th in qualification.

"I feel pretty ordinary because I had high hopes," a disappointed Anderson said.

A new board which he made with a friend functioned well, but a plate that was fixed to it caused problems.

"It's a good plate but it was too rigid for my weight and the trail conditions today," said Anderson, who weighs 175 pounds.

"I could have used an old plate but I thought this was better. I didn't think I could win with an old plate and you don't come to the World Championships to lose."

Matthew Morison of Blackstock, Ont., was the top Canadian on the men's side, finishing 19th.

Toronto's Michael Lambert fell on his second run, while Steve Barlow of Courtice, Ont., ended up 37th.

Lambert described his fall as "definitely devastating."

"Everything felt fantastic and I'll have to look at the video to see what happened," he told reporters afterward. "It was a heel-side turn and firm snow and I probably just caught the boots on the ice.

"I came into the turn fine so I think I must have just had too much edge angle."

On the women's side, Calve, of Aylmer, Que., was eliminated after her first run and came in a disappointing 34th.

"I'm very disappointed but that's part of the sport," she said. "You have more defeats than you do victories during your career.

"But this is super disappointing because I'm home and I want to make an impression. And it's also the World Championships and the giant slalom, which is my race."